City takes pressure off as water saving continues

As from Monday 4 June 2018, Cape Town’s collective consumption over the past week was 529 million litres of water per day, up from an average of 505 million litres in the preceding week. Dam levels have increased solidly by 5,8% as a result of the good rainfall received especially in the catchment areas and overall levels are now at 29,8%.

The 216,3 mm of rainfall that was received in May is close to the long-term average for May, and higher than what was received at the same time last year. This rainfall, together with ongoing water-saving efforts by Capetonians and the City’s continuing ground-breaking pressure management initiatives, are helping to stretch the water resources in our dams which were almost depleted by the drought.

The City’s pressure management programme is now achieving savings of 62 million litres of water per day by lowering pressure across the metro. Not only does pressure management generally lower consumption by reducing the rate at which water flows to properties, it also reduces leaks and pipe bursts by ensuring that pressure remains within levels that the pipework can tolerate, and reduces the rate of loss from leaks and bursts.

‘We are fortunate in Cape Town to have a strong partnership between water users and the City that will continue to get us through tough times. I would like to thank our residents and the professional, highly skilled officials who have been working incredibly hard to help us navigate the drought.

‘Our pressure management programmes are testament to the skills and dedication on the ground. The City has been expanding its roll-out of pressure testing with the aim of using the results to implement more automated pressure zones across the metro. By creating these zones, which we have been doing for many years and have been ramping up as a response to the drought, the City is able to adjust water pressure remotely and work more efficiently. This technology reduces water pressure and thus helps to reduce water usage, as well as bursts and leaks.

‘We know that sometimes pressure management will lead to some level of discomfort for certain areas or households, but this is a key initiative to ensure that we continue to use as little water as possible and lower our water usage to 450 million litres per day. The latter remains a requirement by the National Department of Water and Sanitation and equates to 50 litres of water per person per day. We ask our water users to keep going strong and not to be tempted to relax their water-saving efforts in winter,’ said the City’s Executive Deputy Mayor, Alderman Ian Neilson.

Always check with your neighbours whether they too are experiencing low water pressure or intermittent supply disruptions as this would in all likelihood be pressure-related. If the problem persists for an unreasonable period of time, send an email to water@capetown.gov.za or call 0860 103 089, WhatsApp 063 407 3699 or SMS 31373 (max of 160 characters).